


Never Strikes Twice

by kiwigirl



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Assistant Darcy Lewis, Attempted Kidnapping, F/M, Mercenaries, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, the trouble with Science!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-15 23:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10559758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiwigirl/pseuds/kiwigirl
Summary: Boy meets Girl. Girl tases Boy. That's how most of Darcy's stories start, right?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ozhawk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozhawk/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Oz! You deserve ALL the crackships.

Victor snarled silently as he stalked through the dimly-lit lab. Even empty, the shiny surfaces made his skin crawl, but it was poorly guarded and the place where the target spent 90% of her time.  He hated these stupid mercenary jobs, but a mutant had to eat and the scientist had offered good money.

Pausing, he inhaled deeply. There had been several people through this area recently, none of them familiar to him. The strongest scent was that of violets and honey, overlaid with a hefty dose of fear. Under different circumstances, it was a scent he would find quite agreeable - minus the fear, of course. Popular opinion aside, he wasn't _that_ type of bastard.

The scent grew stronger. He rounded a corner to find his prey perched on a bench top in the middle of the room, legs swinging as she checked her phone. He knew she wouldn't have signal, thanks to the jammers they had been activated before they cut the power. Squinting at her, he realised she wasn't Jane Foster - she must be the assistant his employer had mentioned. No matter. With a little persuading, she would tell him where Dr Foster was and he could get this job over and done with.

His claws slipped out with a quiet _snik_ and she turned slowly, carefully. " _Oh, there you are,"_ she said, with a bright, fixed smile, and shot him.

 _A taser_ , he thought with dull surprise, as the burning electricity filled his veins. _"That hurts,"_ he complained, and had time enough to see her eyes go wide before darkness claimed him.

* * *

Darcy really wished Ian knew how to keep his mouth shut. He was a fantastic kisser and a great guy, but apparently, couldn't keep a secret worth a damn. She had to break up with him on principle after the entire scientific community started buzzing that Jane Foster had cracked the secret of mass teleportation. Regardless of how many times Jane protested it wasn't ready, they all assumed she was holding out for a higher bidder and now it looked like one of those buyers had decided they weren't willing to wait.

When the electricity had cut out, she'd sent Jane to the panic room behind the false wall - teleportation would have been handy, but it didn't handle living tissue very well. Something about recomposing the molecular structure and distinct issues thereof. As annoying as Jane sometimes was, Darcy had no desire to turn her best friend into a puddle of goo. Which is why she was now standing above her unconscious soulmate, wondering _what the hell was she going to do now?_

Too busy studying his prone form, she didn't notice the club behind her until it descended on her head and she joined her soulmate in unconsciousness.

* * *

“Wake up,” someone said from above him. A boot thudded into his ribs and Victor growled deep in his throat.

“Do that again and you lose the leg.” Opening his eyes, he staggered to his feet. Neither of his fellow mercenaries offered to help. Given the vaguely greenish cast to Ander’s rat-like face, he was taking Victor’s threat seriously.

Good.

He looked around. His soulmate was slumped on the floor, hands zip-tied together. Despite her limp form, her breathing was steady so he resisted the urge to stab someone. It took more effort than he expected, but a girl like that might not want to wake up splattered with blood.

“We got Foster, let’s go,” Ezekiel said, gathering up some nearby papers.

Victor snorted. “That’s not Foster, that’s her assistant."

“Then what do we do now?”

He took another look at his soulmate, remembering her steady hands as she shot him, though the fear had rolled off her in waves. “Now, we wait for her to wake up.”

* * *

"I can't believe Sabretooth got knocked out by a _girl,"_ someone snickered. Darcy cracked an eye open. Three sets of legs swam into view - she was seated on the ground and her hands felt secured behind her.

Sabretooth? That must be her soulmate's name. Or nickname, it sounded like. She could swear she'd heard it before but his face had been unfamiliar and clearly they hadn't met until today.

Discreetly, she tried to tilt her head upwards but the movement caught the attention of one of her captors. "She's awake," he said, and all three men turned to face her - including her apparent soulmate, whose dark gaze seemed to see too much.

"Where is Dr Foster?" the first man demanded. Ignoring her apparent soulmate, she concentrated on trying not to panic. Surely Jane had called the police already and they would be here any minute now.

"She invented teleportation, remember? Real clever, trying to kidnap her from her own lab. She could be anywhere in the world."

"We cut the power," one of the others protested, and Darcy couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes.

"In case you hadn't noticed, we're hardly in the dark here. Backup generators, dude."

The first man _tsked,_ shaking his head. "Odd, because your notes indicate that the teleporter is not ready for human use. Something about reordering the molecular structure? Which means Dr Foster is still on the premises. You could make this a lot easier on yourself and just tell us now."

Darcy snarled at the idea of these thugs going through her notes - and they'd have to be her notes because Jane's were functionally illegible. "I'm not telling you anything," she spat.

"Cut her up a little, Sabretooth. See how much she'll tell us then."

Darcy glared at her soulmate as he strolled forward. Sure, soulmates didn't mean they would be instant best buds, but she expected better than this. He crouched in front of her, odd claws extending from his hands.

"Do you want them dead or unconscious?" he rumbled quietly and she felt her breath come faster.

"Not dead," she squeaked. He gave her a short nod before rising smoothly, the claws sliding away.

"What are you - _urk_ " the man's question cut off in a strangled yelp as a meaty fist ploughed into his face. The other lifted a gun in shaking hands, only to find it batted away like a particularly lazy fly. With another powerful punch, he flew through the air and hit Jane’s spectrometer with a resounding crash, then lay still.

“Jane’s going to be made you broke her baby,” Darcy informed her soulmate.

“Her… baby?” he asked, crossing the room back to her and releasing whatever bound her wrists. Powerful hands wrapped around her waist, lifting her to her feet.

She gestured to the broken pieces of spectrometer. “Her baby. She’s had it since New Mexico, and – are you _smelling_ me!?”

Her soulmate lifted his face from her hair. “You smell nice. I am Victor. Some call me Sabretooth.”

Darcy blinked. “Oh, yeah, right. I’m Darcy? Uh, thanks for the save and, um, sorry I tased you.”

Close as they were, it took a moment for her to realise that the low rumbling was in fact not an earthquake, but his laughter, the vibrations soothing, almost like purring. Still feeling wobbly, Darcy rested her head against his shaking chest and finally let herself relax.


End file.
